"A childhood dream": Jamaal Charles playing for the man who inspired him

Anytime you can acquire a player, and from a division foe, it’s a good thing. Whenever you can acquire a player that was consistently called a “Bronco Killer;” it’s a great thing.

Just days after a draft that did not see Denver take a big-name running back, John Elway and Co. surprised the NFL by signing free agent and former Kansas City Chiefs star Jamaal Charles to a one-year, $3.75 Million dollar deal.

“I’m excited about just playing for [Denver] because that’s where I dreamed about playing when I was a kid and now I get to wear the jersey,” Charles told Cal Jones on his Unmatched Sports podcast Thursday afternoon. “Why wouldn’t I try to brag about the Denver Broncos? They try to bring me into basically put me back on top and see me succeed instead of seeing me fall. Why am I not going to accept that and embrace that spirit?”

Charles, 30, grew up in Port Arthur, Texas idolizing his favorite player in the league, John Elway.

“Denver’s just a childhood dream I had. And it’s a blessing in disguise how it fell in my lap,” Charles explained. “Yeah, I want to play for the team, for the guy [John Elway] that inspired me.”

“I just liked the environment, the team, and the organization. I wanted to be a part of it,” he added.

The Broncos are getting a fantastic player with a huge chip on his shoulder, but the Chiefs’ all-time leading rusher wants to make sure that chip isn’t interpreted as a grudge against his longtime home.

“I won’t be against Kansas City. That sounds crazy, man. I will never be against Kansas City,” he said. “They gave me my chance here.”

While Charles does have his eyes on the bigger picture at hand, he was also a bit shocked how Chiefs Chairman Clark Hunt and President Mark Donovan handled the situation.

“I thought maybe they’d give me a grace period. I haven’t performed the last two years. At the same time I know that it was about business,” he explained on the podcast. “I think it would have been cool if they came and told me a pay cut. I think I would have taken that pay cut because I think I owed that to them for allowing me to be on the team… I feel like, when I got that call, it was just like ‘okay.’ I think if it could happen to Peyton Manning, it could happen to anybody.”

If it could happen to Peyton Manning, it could happen to anybody… That phrase could be applied in many ways to Jamaal Charles and his new situation.